Assia Wevill
Encyclopedia
Assia Wevill was a German
-born woman who escaped the Nazis, lived in British Palestine
and later in Britain, and is best known for her relationship with the English poet Ted Hughes
. She killed herself and also her four-year-old daughter Alexandra Tatiana Elise (Shura). Six years earlier, Hughes's wife Sylvia Plath
had also committed suicide. The deaths led to rumours that Hughes was an abusive husband and father.
Wevill committed suicide in similar fashion to Plath, by use of a gas oven.
. Cited by friends and family as a free-spirited young woman, she would go out to dance at the British soldiers' club, where she met Sergeant John Steel, who would become her first husband and with whom she moved to London
in 1946. They later emigrated to Canada
, where she enrolled in the University of British Columbia
, Vancouver, and where she was to meet her second husband, Canadian economist Richard Lipsey
.
In 1956, on a ship to London, she met the 21-year-old poet David Wevill
. They began an affair and Assia divorced Lipsey, marrying Wevill in 1960.
A refugee from Nazi Germany
after the beginning of World War II
, she was linguistically gifted, and besides working in the advertising industry, was an aspiring poet who published, under her maiden name Assia Gutmann, an English translation of the work of Israeli poet Yehuda Amichai
.
Regarded as a stunning beauty, Wevill greatly feared aging and losing her beauty, according to her sister Celia.
and Sylvia Plath
rented their flat in Chalcot Square, Primrose Hill, London to Assia and David Wevill, and took up residence at North Tawton
, Devon
. Hughes was immediately struck with Assia, as she was with him. He later wrote:
Plath noted their chemistry. Soon after, Ted and Assia began an affair. At the time of Plath's suicide, Wevill was pregnant with Hughes' child, but she terminated the pregnancy soon after. The actual relationship, who instigated it, and its circumstances have been hotly debated for many years.
Hughes moved her into Court Green
(the North Tawton
, Devon, home that he had bought with Plath), where Assia helped to care for Hughes' and Plath's two children, Frieda
and Nicholas
. Wevill was reportedly haunted by Plath's memory; she even began using things that had once belonged to Plath. In a biography of Assia, Lover of Unreason, the authors maintain that she used Plath's items not out of obsession, but rather for the sake of practicality, as she was maintaining a household for Hughes and his children. On 3 March 1965 at age 37, Wevill gave birth to Alexandra Tatiana Elise, nicknamed "Shura," while still married to David Wevill.
Ostracized by her lover's friends and family, and eclipsed by the figure of Plath in public life, she became anxious and suspicious of Hughes's infidelity, which was real enough. He began affairs with Brenda Hedden, a married acquaintance who frequented their home and Carol Orchard, a nurse twenty years his junior, whom he married in 1970. Wevill's relationship with Hughes was also fraught with complexities, as shown by a collection of his letters to her that have been acquired by Emory University
. She was continually distraught at his seeming reluctance to commit to marrying and setting up a home with her while treating her as a "housekeeper". Most of Hughes' friends indicate that while he never publicly claimed Shura as his daughter, his sister Olwyn said that he did believe the child was his.
In 1989, Hughes published half a dozen poems he had written for Assia, which were hidden among the 240 poems in New Selected Poems. In "The Error." he wrote:
In "The Descent," he wrote:
In the feature film Sylvia
, Assia Wevill was portrayed by Amira Casar
.
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
-born woman who escaped the Nazis, lived in British Palestine
Mandate Palestine
Mandate Palestine existed while the British Mandate for Palestine, which formally began in September 1923 and terminated in May 1948, was in effect...
and later in Britain, and is best known for her relationship with the English poet Ted Hughes
Ted Hughes
Edward James Hughes OM , more commonly known as Ted Hughes, was an English poet and children's writer. Critics routinely rank him as one of the best poets of his generation. Hughes was British Poet Laureate from 1984 until his death.Hughes was married to American poet Sylvia Plath, from 1956 until...
. She killed herself and also her four-year-old daughter Alexandra Tatiana Elise (Shura). Six years earlier, Hughes's wife Sylvia Plath
Sylvia Plath
Sylvia Plath was an American poet, novelist and short story writer. Born in Massachusetts, she studied at Smith College and Newnham College, Cambridge before receiving acclaim as a professional poet and writer...
had also committed suicide. The deaths led to rumours that Hughes was an abusive husband and father.
Wevill committed suicide in similar fashion to Plath, by use of a gas oven.
Early life
Assia Gutmann was the daughter of a Jewish physician of Russian origin, Dr. Lonya Gutmann, and a German Lutheran mother, Elizabetha (née Gaedeke). She spent most of her youth in Tel AvivTel Aviv
Tel Aviv , officially Tel Aviv-Yafo , is the second most populous city in Israel, with a population of 404,400 on a land area of . The city is located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline in west-central Israel. It is the largest and most populous city in the metropolitan area of Gush Dan, with...
. Cited by friends and family as a free-spirited young woman, she would go out to dance at the British soldiers' club, where she met Sergeant John Steel, who would become her first husband and with whom she moved to London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
in 1946. They later emigrated to Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, where she enrolled in the University of British Columbia
University of British Columbia
The University of British Columbia is a public research university. UBC’s two main campuses are situated in Vancouver and in Kelowna in the Okanagan Valley...
, Vancouver, and where she was to meet her second husband, Canadian economist Richard Lipsey
Richard Lipsey
Richard George Lipsey, OC, FRSC is a Canadian academic and economist. He is best known for his work on the economics of the second-best, a theory of constrained optimization by government of the tax system, which he co-authored with Kelvin Lancaster, a mathematical economist of high...
.
In 1956, on a ship to London, she met the 21-year-old poet David Wevill
David Wevill
David Wevill is a Canadian poet and translator. He became a dual citizen in 1994. Wevill is a professor emeritus in the Department of English at The University of Texas at Austin....
. They began an affair and Assia divorced Lipsey, marrying Wevill in 1960.
A refugee from Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
after the beginning of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, she was linguistically gifted, and besides working in the advertising industry, was an aspiring poet who published, under her maiden name Assia Gutmann, an English translation of the work of Israeli poet Yehuda Amichai
Yehuda Amichai
Yehuda Amichai was an Israeli poet. Amichai is considered by many, both in Israel and internationally, as Israel's greatest modern poet. He was also one of the first to write in colloquial Hebrew....
.
Regarded as a stunning beauty, Wevill greatly feared aging and losing her beauty, according to her sister Celia.
Ted Hughes
In 1961, poets Ted HughesTed Hughes
Edward James Hughes OM , more commonly known as Ted Hughes, was an English poet and children's writer. Critics routinely rank him as one of the best poets of his generation. Hughes was British Poet Laureate from 1984 until his death.Hughes was married to American poet Sylvia Plath, from 1956 until...
and Sylvia Plath
Sylvia Plath
Sylvia Plath was an American poet, novelist and short story writer. Born in Massachusetts, she studied at Smith College and Newnham College, Cambridge before receiving acclaim as a professional poet and writer...
rented their flat in Chalcot Square, Primrose Hill, London to Assia and David Wevill, and took up residence at North Tawton
North Tawton
North Tawton is a small town in Devon, England, situated on the river Taw.-History:The Romans crossed the River Taw at what is now Newland Mill, a little outside the present town, and established a succession of military camps there over the years...
, Devon
Devon
Devon is a large county in southwestern England. The county is sometimes referred to as Devonshire, although the term is rarely used inside the county itself as the county has never been officially "shired", it often indicates a traditional or historical context.The county shares borders with...
. Hughes was immediately struck with Assia, as she was with him. He later wrote:
- We didn't find her - she found us.
- She sniffed us out.
- She sat there
- Slightly filthy with erotic mystery.
- I saw the dreamer in her
- Had fallen in love with me and she did not know it.
- That moment the dreamer in me
- Fell in love with her, and I soon knew it.
Plath noted their chemistry. Soon after, Ted and Assia began an affair. At the time of Plath's suicide, Wevill was pregnant with Hughes' child, but she terminated the pregnancy soon after. The actual relationship, who instigated it, and its circumstances have been hotly debated for many years.
Hughes moved her into Court Green
Court Green
Court Green in North Tawton, Devon, England, was the home the poets Ted Hughes and Sylvia Plath moved to in 1961. Plath left the house in December 1962, while Hughes lived there on and off for the rest of his life.- Sylvia Plath at Court Green :...
(the North Tawton
North Tawton
North Tawton is a small town in Devon, England, situated on the river Taw.-History:The Romans crossed the River Taw at what is now Newland Mill, a little outside the present town, and established a succession of military camps there over the years...
, Devon, home that he had bought with Plath), where Assia helped to care for Hughes' and Plath's two children, Frieda
Frieda Hughes
Frieda Rebecca Hughes is an English poet and painter. She has published seven children's books and four poetry collections and has had many exhibitions.-Early life:...
and Nicholas
Nicholas Hughes
Nicholas Farrar Hughes was a fisheries biologist known as an expert in stream salmonid ecology. Hughes was the son of the American poet Sylvia Plath and English poet Ted Hughes and the younger brother of English artist and poet Frieda Hughes...
. Wevill was reportedly haunted by Plath's memory; she even began using things that had once belonged to Plath. In a biography of Assia, Lover of Unreason, the authors maintain that she used Plath's items not out of obsession, but rather for the sake of practicality, as she was maintaining a household for Hughes and his children. On 3 March 1965 at age 37, Wevill gave birth to Alexandra Tatiana Elise, nicknamed "Shura," while still married to David Wevill.
Ostracized by her lover's friends and family, and eclipsed by the figure of Plath in public life, she became anxious and suspicious of Hughes's infidelity, which was real enough. He began affairs with Brenda Hedden, a married acquaintance who frequented their home and Carol Orchard, a nurse twenty years his junior, whom he married in 1970. Wevill's relationship with Hughes was also fraught with complexities, as shown by a collection of his letters to her that have been acquired by Emory University
Emory University
Emory University is a private research university in metropolitan Atlanta, located in the Druid Hills section of unincorporated DeKalb County, Georgia, United States. The university was founded as Emory College in 1836 in Oxford, Georgia by a small group of Methodists and was named in honor of...
. She was continually distraught at his seeming reluctance to commit to marrying and setting up a home with her while treating her as a "housekeeper". Most of Hughes' friends indicate that while he never publicly claimed Shura as his daughter, his sister Olwyn said that he did believe the child was his.
Death
On 23 March 1969, Assia Wevill gassed herself and four-year-old Shura in their London home. She had sealed the kitchen door and window, taken sleeping pills dissolved in a glass of water, and turned on the gas stove. She and Shura were found lying together on a mattress.Legacy
Ted Hughes' volume of poetry Crow (1970) was dedicated to the memory of Assia and Shura. His poem "Folktale" deals with his relation to Assia:- She wanted the silent heraldry
- Of the purple beach by the noble wall.
- He wanted Cabala the ghetto demon
- With its polythene bag full of ashes.
In 1989, Hughes published half a dozen poems he had written for Assia, which were hidden among the 240 poems in New Selected Poems. In "The Error." he wrote:
- When her grave opened its ugly mouth
- why didn't you just fly,
- Why did you kneel down at the grave's edge
- to be identified
- accused and convicted?
In "The Descent," he wrote:
- your own hands, stronger than your choked outcry,
- Took your daughter from you. She was stripped from you,
- The last raiment
- Clinging round your neck, the sole remnant
- Between you and the bed
- In the underworld
In the feature film Sylvia
Sylvia (2003 film)
Sylvia is a 2003 British biographical drama film directed by Christine Jeffs and starring Gwyneth Paltrow, Daniel Craig, Jared Harris, and Michael Gambon. It tells the true story of the romance between prominent poets Sylvia Plath and Ted Hughes...
, Assia Wevill was portrayed by Amira Casar
Amira Casar
Amira Casar is a French actress who grew up in Ireland and who has appeared in 40 films between 1989 and 2009....
.
Further reading
- a Lover of Unreason: the Life and Tragic Death of Assia Wevill, by Yehuda Koren and Eilat Negev, 2006.
External links
- Ted Hughes: The Life of a Poet by Elaine FeinsteinElaine FeinsteinElaine Feinstein is a poet, novelist, short-story writer, playwright, biographer and translator.-Biography:...
Extract from Chapter 8 - Devon, pp 120-124) "Assia" - The beauty and the brute article by Glenys Roberts 11 January 2007.
- "Haunted by the ghosts of love". The Guardian 10 April 1999